I love to make picture books using photos arranged in Picasa collages. I made several such books for my grandson, Evan. Most of those books had pictures taken when my wife and I visited Evan and his family, or when Evan visited us here in Los Angeles. Other homemade picture books included Evan’s Book of Parades (in which I “photoshopped” his photos into various parades), Evan’s Book of Relatives, Evan’s Book of Vehicles, and Opposites for Evan.

The first five books of the bible are divided up into 54 “portions.” One portion is to be read each week (certain portions are combined to fit into the 52 weeks of the year). My wife and I attend Tuesday evening lectures devoted to these portions of the bible. At our Tuesday class, a selection from the portion-of-the-week is presented, and discussed. I find the lectures interesting, but I have never really been motivated to “get into” reading the bible. That is, not until about six weeks ago when I discovered I could choose a small section of a portion-of-the-week and, using Picasa collages, illustrate it with written comments.

It’s my latest hobby, and I am excited about it. Who would have ever imagined that I could be excited about reading the bible? Now I take the bible to bed with me and read the portion of the week, looking for one small section that interests me the most. Once I realize just how I can illustrate the information, it’s as if I am seeing the happenings in the bible come to life. And, you can imagine how energized I feel once my ideas achieve fruition by appearing on my Picasa collage.

When I could not find a Google image showing the High Priest’s breastplate stones, as well as clear images of those stones, as well as the names of those stones in Hebrew and English, as well as the names of each of the 12 tribes that goes with each stone, as well as the birth order and mothers’ names for each tribe, I just created that image. This comes from a section of the weekly portion, called “Pekudai.” And perhaps not many people will enjoy seeing pictures of faces with various afflictions, but there they are, making it all “come alive.” This section of the weekly portion, called “Tazria,” is not easy for the faint-hearted. And the illustrations for the “purification” section that follows, “Metzora,” are already in my mind since I took that portion to bed with me last night.

I don’t plan to become an expert on the bible, but I just may become a lot more knowledgeable about what is in that book. And I’m having a lot of fun learning.

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com